General News
20 July, 2023
Irish visitor pulls on a jumper
REID Oval is a long way from the gaelic football fields of Ireland but that didn’t stop Daragh Fanning from pulling on a Magpie jumper last weekend.
REID Oval is a long way from the gaelic football fields of Ireland but that didn’t stop Daragh Fanning from pulling on a Magpie jumper last weekend.
The fit 26 year-old had only been in Camperdown since last Thursday, and had never been to a training session or taken part in a footy match, but that didn’t deter him from lining up with the Magpies on Saturday.
“I’ll give anything a crack if given the chance,” Fanning said.
“I’ve been in Sydney with my girlfriend since February and came to Camperdown last week to work on a dairy farm, because we have one back home (in Ireland) and I really wanted to learn how dairy farms operate over here.
“I know Adam Roberts (Camperdown player) from relations back home and he invited me to work on his farm and join the local footy club. Never did I imagine that in my first Saturday in Camperdown I’d be pulling on the boots – but I absolutely loved it and hopefully I’ll get another crack at it.”
While Fanning found the transition from Gaelic football to Aussie rules quite challenging, his fitness got him through game number one.
“I play quite a lot of football back home and I do triathlons and marathons. The rules and the length of the game are two things I probably struggled with a bit,” Fanning said.
“The game is a lot longer. I felt like a bit of a headless chook running around but I (think) I played on the backline and I made three or four tackles.”
Fanning is hoping to stay in Camperdown until the end of September-early October and during that time learn a bit more about one of the district’s most popular sports – “and maybe even get another few games if I’m lucky.”
Sadly Fanning wasn’t able to enjoy a win with his Magpie team-mates; the reserves going down by 102 points to the third-placed Blues, 1.1.7 to 16.13.109.
“We didn’t win but I think we had a good time and isn’t that what counts?” Fanning said.
“I know the boys train twice a week but I’ll hopefully make one session – and perhaps pick up a few rules along the way.”